Ramblings on life in rural Japan from a former JET Programme ALT in Towada, Aomori turned permanent resident.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Good Points

So my fun (but eventful) trip home is over. I got back home last week on Wednesday around 10pm thanks to Allie picking me up from Misawa and saving me the expense and trouble of taking the ancient totetsu from Misawa-Towada (it's slower than driving, and there are no elevators/escalators to the platform, so it would've been a pain lugging my 51 lb suitcase up and down the stairs!).

Going home for 2.5 weeks and then coming back to Japan gave me a chance to notice/think about some of the differences in culture/way of doing things between Canada and Japan. So here are some of the good points I noticed about each country:

CANADA:- allowed to make right turns at red lights- menu choices/ability to make substitutions (e.g. house salad instead of caesar, etc.)- cheap cost of produce ($2 for a 10-12 lb watermelon!)- in a restaurant, everyone receives their food at the same time

JAPAN:- efficient airport (cleared customs and got my luggage in ~30 min!)- tax included prices on everything- no need to tip servers (I don't mind tipping, I just hate having to do the math all the time!)- (mostly) punctual train (and other forms of public transportation) service

I'm sure there are more, but I'm too tired right now to think of/write any more.

About Me

Canadian and former JET Programme ALT* who taught English in elementary and junior high schools in Towada from 2007-2012. A certified junior and senior high school English and history teacher in her home province in Canada. (*Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme, Assistant Language Teacher*)